Stray dog mauls 7-mnth-old to death in Noida Sector 100

A seven-month-old who was brutally attacked by a stray dog died late Monday night, triggering massive protests by residents in Sector 100, calls for removal of strays from area

NOIDA: A seven-month-old child died late on Monday after being attacked by a stray dog at a residential society in Noida’s Sector 100, triggering protests by residents and calls for civic authorities to do more to address the rise in such canine population.

The child’s parents were employed as daily-wage construction workers at the Lotus Boulevard apartment complex and were at work when the attack occurred around 4.30pm. The victim was taken to a private hospital and succumbed to the grievous injuries to his abdomen around 11pm.

“A contractor was hired to carry out maintenance of roads inside the society. The labourers hired by him were working inside at the time of the incident. The child’s mother had come with lunch for her husband while their son was laid on the sidewalk of the road. Suddenly, a dog attacked the child ferociously. The parents immediately rescued their son and raised an alarm after which the dog fled and residents gathered at the spot,” said DV Yadav, vice president of Lotus Boulevard Apartment Owners’ Association (LBAOA).

“He was taken to the operation theatre at 6.30pm, and at 11.09pm he was declared dead by the doctors,” said Rajesh Kumar, the child’s father.

“As per the medical report, he was brought in a very critical condition with visible bite marks on the abdomen. During surgery we tried to repair the baby’s intestines but the patient could not be saved despite extensive efforts,” said Dr Sunil Balyan, chief medical superintendent at Yatharth Hospitals, where the victim was taken.

Yadav said the rising number of strays was to the Noida authority on several occasions. “There have been several incidents in the past when stray dogs have attacked residents of the society. The AOA (apartment owners’ association) has written to Noida Authority several times to sterilise and remove the dogs from the society,” said Yadav.

“This is an unfortunate incident and we are with the residents to help in any matter required. We will coordinate with the AOAS to transport the stray dogs to dog shelters. Noida authority is working on setting up four shelter homes for dogs. These shelter homes will come up within a month and help check the stray dog menace in Noida,” said Indu Prakash Singh, OSD, Noida authority

According to Noida Police, no complaint was filed because no one claimed ownership of the dogs.

“If it had been a pet dog, the owner may have been prosecuted. However, because it is a stray dog, the relevant departments will be notified to take action in the region, such as evicting the dogs or taking other steps,” said Rajneesh Verma, Assistant Commissioner of Police-1, Noida.

The challenge of tackling such attacks has been a divisive topic, with residents often advocating for relocations out of a fear for their safety. Animal rights activists and experts, however, say relocations are neither appropriate nor legal under the rules, and the solution instead lies in sterilisation drives.

On Tuesday, residents sparred over similar lines.

“This incident has shaken us to the core. Till now we have been tolerating incidents of biting and harassment by street dogs in the society but now a life has been lost. It is not just children, but senior citizens too who are bearing the brunt of this menace,” said Gaurav Chibber, a resident of the society.

“I have two young kids and I never feel safe enough to let my children go downstairs to play, such is the threat of these stray dogs here,” said Rashmi (who goes by her first name), a resident of the society.

The Noida authority dispatched dogcatchers to remove the canines. Sanjay Mahapatra, an animal rights activist who led a group opposing the relocation, said the incident was an accident. “This is a lone accident and for this, you cannot punish all the dogs of the society. Dogs cannot be displaced from their territory and this society is as much their home as much it is of the humans living here,” he said.

The dogcatchers eventually removed some of the animals and took them to a shelter in Sector 94.

When the dogs were taken to the shelter, the animal activists reached there to protest against the decision to remove the dogs. “This is an illegal act and we demand that the dogs be released back to their society which is their home,” said Mahapatra.

There are over 8,000 residents living in the society which has 29 towers and about 3,000 flats. One tower is at present under construction.

Noida and its sister township Greater Noida have been plagued by delayed real-estate projects, leaving many neighbourhoods in a state of perpetual construction work with temporary migrant populations and incomplete waste disposal mechanisms -- factors that experts said draw in stray dogs.

“I live in Sector 137, one of the newly developed areas of the city. This place was agricultural fields till about 15 years ago. So where did the dogs come from? The problem is that most of the projects here were abandoned for years and were constructed over more than 10 years after years of delay. In this period, the dogs settled and got easy food,” said Gaurav Kumar Seth, a resident of Logix Blossom County in Noida.